Constant-Content staffer, Jeff Richards announced today that Constant-Content now has a minimum price of $7. While I feel that $7 is still low for a usage article (especially since writers only get $4.55 after the cut at this rate), this is still good news. For one, it takes just as much time for the editor to check a $1 article for plagiarism and carefully review it for adherence to the site’s guidelines as it it does to check a $100 article. I want Constant-Content to be around for a long time and it doesn’t make sense to spend a great deal of time on articles that aren’t profitable.

Another reason I’ve been wanting to see a minimum price is to set expectations. Constant-Content isn’t a free article directory; it’s a place where webmasters and publishers can go to find original content. Inexpensive usage articles have their place on the site and I think this is a fair compromise.

Last week, we talked about adding keywords to the Keywords field when submitting or editing a Constant-Content.com article. Today, let’s look at what customers of the site are actually entering when searching for articles.

First, sign into your Constant-Content.com account and click on Recently Sold Content. Now, click the Search Topics tab. Here you’ll find the latest searches on the site. Right now, the site lists search terms such as: debt, debt collector, collection agency, mortgages, business, cartoon, tomato, carling cup, wedding favors, wedding reception.

Not only might these results give you ideas of keywords that you should add to your related articles, they also let you know what current customers are looking for right now. From the looks of today’s search results, an article about avoiding the debt collector or what to do when a collection agency is hounding you might be in order.

Good grief! Is it National Grammar Day? I didn’t get the memo but I did get a tweet from GrammarGirl who is celebrating in style with free downloadable PDFs for teachers (includes The Punctuation Rap and Correct the Celebrity), a Twitter contest for tweeting about National Grammar Day, and other grammar events.

How will you celebrate? I think I’ll celebrate by listing my grammar pet peeves. Here goes:

• Saying “I seen” as in “I seen a coyote yesterday.”
• Talking like a redneck (see above)
• Sentences that don’t make sense

What are your grammar pet peeves?

Do you know how much writers make on average? Knowing the average wages of your occupation gives you a better handle on how much to charge and where you stand compared to your peers. If you’re a freelancer, you’ll also need to account for your higher tax burden and other factors when setting your prices.

According to CareerOneStop.org, a site sponsored by the US Department of Labor, in 2008, median earnings for writers nationwide were $53,100 per year, or $25.51 per hour. This site lets you view wage info by state and county, too. For example, median wages in California for writers were $67,500 per year, or $32.47 per hour.

How does your writing income compare? Do you know how much you make per hour? If you’re self-employed, are you charging hourly rates that allow you to earn a wage in line with the occupation as a whole while also accounting for your higher tax burden?

Your articles on Constant-Content.com have a better chance of selling if you make them as discoverable as possible. During submission, one of the last fields is for keywords. I’m guilty of entering a just the first few that come to mind and then moving on. If you do this too, head over to the My Content section of the dashboard and select one of your articles. Click Edit. Now, enter as many keywords as you can think of including both singular and plural versions. Make sure that they’re relevant to the article and don’t mislead.

Think about what a potential buyer would enter in Constant-Content’s search box and enter related words. For instance, if your article is about living together before marriage, keywords might include: marriage, relationship, relationships, living together, pre-marriage living, live in, engagement, long engagement, cohabitating.